Clue in the Corn Maze (2 page)

“I’m glad to hear that,” Ken said.

“Have fun!” Grandfather called as the children hurried over to the maze entrance.

“We will!” Benny waved. But his smile faded when he noticed Mr. Sweeney scowling at them from over by the barn.

The sun felt warm beating down on the children’s backs as they went deeper into the maze. The ground was rock-hard beneath their feet. Rich green cornstalks towered over them. The stalks were as wide around as small tree trunks. They were so close together that not even Benny could sneak between the rows. Each stalk had several silky ears of corn sticking out like small arms.

“Mmm! The corn is so fresh you can almost smell it growing,” Violet said as they turned a corner.

Jessie stepped forward and sniffed an ear of corn. “I think you’re right, Violet,” she laughed.

“Which way should we go?” Benny asked when they came to a fork in the path.

“This way.” Violet pointed. She started off down the path that led to the right. The others stuck close to her heels. But that path soon turned out to be a dead end, so they turned around. When they arrived back at the fork, Violet and Benny started to turn to the left.

“Are you sure that’s the right way?” Henry scratched his head. “I think that way leads back to the maze entrance.”

Jessie rested her stick in the crook of her arm and looked first one direction, then the other. “Yes, we turned right when we turned off this main path. But then we turned around, so now we have to go right again.”

For the next hour, the Aldens followed path after path. Some of the paths led into large open areas. Others ended abruptly in dead ends.

The children noticed a few leftover bits of toilet paper stuck to some of the plants. Henry grabbed one of the larger pieces and peered at it. “I wonder if we can use this to figure out who toilet-papered the maze?”

“How?” Benny asked. “It’s just plain old toilet paper. Everybody has toilet paper.”

“Yes, but not all toilet paper is the same,” Jessie pointed out.

Violet looked closely at the piece. “That’s true. See all the dots that are pressed into it? They form a swirly design.”

“You’re right, Violet,” Jessie said. “I bet every brand of toilet paper has its own design.”

“This piece could be an important clue,” Henry said as he stuffed the toilet paper into his pocket.

The Aldens kept walking. They didn’t find any other clues, but they enjoyed winding through the maze. A few minutes later, they reached the exit. Grandfather and Ken were waiting for them.

“You did it!” Grandfather clapped his hands together. “You found your way out.”

“Did you need the map?” Ken asked as Jessie handed him her stick.

Henry patted his back pocket, where he’d put Ken’s map. “Nope. We never took it out once.”

“You kids are very good at solving mazes indeed!” Ken said with a smile. “Shall we go in the house and see what we can put together for supper?”

“Oh, yes!” said Benny. The children were eager to wash up and help make supper.

“So, how do you build a corn maze, Ken?” Henry asked as they started across the yard.

“Well, the first step is to figure out what picture I want the maze to form. Then I use a computer to help me draw it out. When the corn is about six inches tall, I cut the maze paths. Then it’s just a matter of maintaining the field and waiting for the visitors to come.”

“That’s really interesting,” Violet said. “I’d like to plan a maze.”

“Maybe one day you will,” Ken said. “Hey, it looks like we’ve got company.” The Aldens’ van was now parked between a rusty blue pickup and a sparkling-clean gray sedan.

The children clattered up the back porch steps. Jessie held the door for Ken.

“David? Kurt? Are you here?” Ken called. His cane tapped against the linoleum floor as he turned into the kitchen. The Aldens followed.

A dark-haired, thirty-five-year-old man dressed in a business suit and tie was reading a financial magazine at the kitchen table.

An older man with curly white hair stood by the stove stirring something in a large pot of boiling water. It smelled like corn.

“Hello! You must be the Aldens.” The younger man stood up and shook Grandfather’s hand. “I’m Ken’s son, David.”

“Pleased to meet you,” Grandfather said. Then he introduced his grandchildren.

The older man smiled. “I’m Kurt, Ken’s much better looking younger brother,” he said with a wide grin that showed a gap between his top two front teeth.

The Aldens laughed as they shook hands with Kurt.

Ken scowled. “What brings you around, Kurt? Checking up on me again?”

“No,” Kurt said. “I brought you some freshly picked sweet corn. This corn was still growing in my field about fifteen minutes ago.”

“Wow, that is freshly picked!” said Henry.

“Corn on the cob is best if you don’t pick it until you’ve got the water boiling and you’re ready to drop the ears into the pot,” Kurt said. “So I rushed right over and put the pot on the stove.”

“Why did you bring your own corn when Ken has so much right here?” Benny asked.

Kurt smiled. “Well, I’ll tell you, Benny. Ken can build a corn maze so spectacular that people will come from all over Iowa to see it. But you wouldn’t want to eat his corn! My corn is at least fit for eating.”

“That’s because you grow sweet corn,” Ken pointed out. “I grow field corn.”

“What did I tell you?” Kurt leaned toward Benny. “Would you want to eat the same kind of corn the cows eat?” he asked.

Benny quickly shook his head.

Kurt dipped a pair of tongs into the boiling pot and pulled out a steaming ear of corn-on-the-cob. He set it on a plate to cool.

“Let me put a little butter on this corn and then we’ll see what you think. Okay, Benny?” Kurt said as he grabbed the butter dish and a knife.

“Okay,” Benny said, his mouth watering.

The butter melted on the corn as fast as Kurt could spread it. Kurt added a little salt, then handed the plate to Benny.

“Now you tell me, have you ever tasted better corn-on-the-cob?” Kurt asked. He watched Benny’s face anxiously.

Benny picked up the corn and took a big bite. “Mmm!” he cried, his eyes wide with amazement. “This is the best corn-on-the-cob I’ve ever had!”

“Let’s get some more plates,” Kurt said. “There’s plenty for everyone.”

While Kurt dished up the corn, David started talking to Ken. “So, Dad,” he said carefully. “Uncle Kurt told me about the trouble in the maze today. I hope you weren’t out there working in the hot sun.”

“I wish my brother would mind his own business,” Ken said with a pointed look at Kurt. “I’m perfectly capable of doing a little work in my own field.”

“But Dad. Your arthritis!” David said.

“My arthritis is fine. Besides, Jack did most of the work.”

David took a deep breath. “I know you don’t want to hear this. But it seems to me the maze and the King Corn Days Festival are getting to be an awful lot of work.”

Ken scowled. “We’ve had this argument before. I’m not selling the farm and I’m not moving into town with you and Linda.”

“You’re not as young as you used to be, Pops,” David said. “This is getting to be too much for you.”

“I’ll decide when something’s too much for me,” Ken said stiffly. “Now we’re not going to talk about this anymore. Are you staying for supper, David?”

David sighed. “Yes. Linda’s got a meeting tonight, so I’ll stay.”

“Good.” Ken nodded. “Then why don’t you go fire up the grill. I’ll take some hamburgers out of the freezer. We can have hamburgers and fresh garden salads with our corn.” He got up and shuffled into the other room with his cane.

“I know how much Dad loves this farm and the festival,” David said to the Aldens once Ken was gone. “But it scares me to think about someone prowling around the maze with toilet paper and leaving threatening notes. If this is going to keep up, I’m afraid I’m going to have to insist that Dad give up the farm.”

“I think that would just about break his heart,” Grandfather said.

“I know,” David admitted. He looked sad. “But what else can I do? I don’t want him to get hurt.”

“Don’t worry,” Henry said. “We’ll figure out who vandalized the maze and wrote that note. And we’ll get them to stop.”

“For my father’s sake, I hope you can,” David said.

Violet woke up during the night. She was thirsty, so she decided to go down to the kitchen to get a drink of water.

She slipped quietly out of bed. As she crept across the room, something out the window caught her eye.

Violet tiptoed over to the window and peered out into the darkness. She saw a round white light bobbing through the cornfield. Was it a flashlight? Was somebody in the maze in the middle of the night?

“Jessie!” Violet whispered. She hurried over to the other bed and gently shook her sister’s shoulder. “Jessie, wake up! I think there’s someone in the corn maze.”

Jessie rubbed her eyes and rolled toward Violet. “What?” she said sleepily.

“There’s a light in the corn maze,” Violet hissed. “I think someone’s in there.”

Jessie tossed her covers aside and followed Violet over to the window. But now, when the girls looked, the light was gone.

“That’s strange,” Violet said.

“Are you sure you saw a light in the field?” Jessie asked. “There’s a light on inside Mr. Sweeney’s trailer. Maybe that’s what you saw?”

Violet couldn’t remember whether there had been a light on in Mr. Sweeney’s trailer when she looked before, but she was sure she’d seen another light in the field.

“The light I saw was moving,” Violet said. “It was bobbing up and down—the way it would if someone was carrying a flashlight.”

A moment later the light in Mr. Sweeney’s trailer went out. Everything was dark.

“Maybe it was just Mr. Sweeney checking to make sure no one was in the maze,” Jessie suggested. “He probably didn’t see anything, so he went back to bed.”

“You’re probably right, Jessie,” Violet agreed. “I’m sorry I woke you.”

“That’s okay,” Jessie said. “Let’s try and get some sleep.”

The next morning, Ken had stacks of pancakes and a frying pan full of sausages ready when the Aldens came downstairs.

“You shouldn’t have gone to so much trouble, Ken,” Grandfather said.

“Why not?” Ken asked. “I love to cook. Always have. You know that. Now eat up, before everything gets cold.”

“Okay,” Benny said as he slid into a chair. Grandfather, Henry, Jessie, and Violet sat down, too.

Benny helped himself to several pancakes. A warm breeze blew through the open kitchen window. The Aldens could tell it was going to be another hot day.

A strange odor caught Benny’s attention. “What’s that smell?” he asked, wrinkling his nose.

“It must be pancakes,” Henry answered. “You sure have a lot of them on your plate.”

“No,” Benny shook his head. “I know how pancakes smell. This is something else. Something that doesn’t smell very good.”

Violet sniffed. “I smell it, too.”

“Me, too,” Jessie said.

Ken set a plate of toast on the table. “I think what you all are smelling is fresh manure,” Ken said. “I’m afraid that’s not an unusual smell when you live in the country. But you get used to it.”

There was a knock at the back door and Jack Sweeney poked his head inside. “Ken?” he said in a serious voice. “We’ve got a problem.”

“What is it?” Ken asked.

“Come outside,” Mr. Sweeney said. He was dressed in overalls and the same muddy cowboy boots he had worn the day before.

Ken grabbed his cane and followed Mr. Sweeney. The Aldens went outside, too. Mr. Sweeney glared at the children, but said nothing. He led them all down the porch steps and out toward the corn maze. The smell of manure was getting stronger. It was so strong that Benny pinched his nose shut.

Mr. Sweeney stopped at the entrance to the maze. The maze path was completely buried under a layer of manure.

“Oh!” Jessie gasped.

“A little manure helps things grow,” Ken said. “But this is more than a little manure. People who come to visit the maze aren’t going to want to wade through this. Is it all through the maze?”

“’Fraid so,” Mr. Sweeney replied. “It’ll take a while to shovel it all out and then spread hay over the paths. Looks like you’re going to have to close up the maze a second time.” But Mr. Sweeney didn’t look very disappointed. In fact, he almost looked happy.

“We can help you clean it up, Mr. Sweeney,” Henry offered.

“Of course we can,” Jessie put in. “You don’t want to close the maze two days in a row.”

“I don’t want a bunch of kids tromping through a maze full of manure, Ken,” Mr. Sweeney said. “They’ll just make more work for me.”

“No, we won’t,” Benny said.

“I assure you, Mr. Sweeney, these children are very good workers,” Grandfather said. “With their help, I’m sure you’ll be able to open on time, Ken.”

“It’s settled then.” Ken banged his cane on the ground. “Let’s finish our breakfast. You’re welcome to join us, Jack.”

“I’ve already eaten,” Mr. Sweeney said coldly.

“After breakfast, we’ll find some old clothes, gloves, and shoes for you all,” Ken told the Aldens. “Then you can help Jack clean things up. With a little luck, the maze will open on schedule today.”